Pros:

Cons:

Unless you've been living as a mango picker in Guatemala as part of the witness relocation program for the last six months, chances are you've been bombarded with Hitman: Contracts previews (check this out if you are one of the painfully uninformed). Thus, I'll dispense with the game summary and get to my impressions and opinions. Dig?

Hitman: Contracts isn't a drastic step in any direction from Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It refines a lot of part two's gameplay dynamics and strings together a better selection of missions, connected via an interesting story of Agent 47 in peril. IO Interactive doesn't go out of its way to add multiplayer elements or tongue-in-cheek unlockables; what it does in Hitman: Contracts is make an even cooler (game about a guy who kills people) than before.

Shootin' & Sneakin'

My in-game personality is that of a serial killer. A job isn't a job well done until I eliminate every survivor on the map. I don't go out guns blazing, mind you; I pick and choose my spots to stalk and hunt down my prey. In Hitman 2, many of the goals were geared toward curbing that tendency, and forcing me to use stealth. Contracts lets up on that leash a bit, while still giving you many other alternatives to tackling your tasks. In this way, it's more appealing to a broader range of gamers.

Disguises are a trademark of the Hitman series, and I'm still a fan of them. I really enjoy the suspense of walking past some bikers while dressed like them, hoping they don't either find the dead guy you stripped bare or notice you don't look right. Costumes seem to be more prevalent than before, and you may don as many as four in the span of a level. Dress like a mechanic to get into the docks, grab a terrorist costume to work your way onto the ship, do the deed, then grab a cop uniform to make a hasty retreat.

Not all the death in the game was caused by you.

I like that you'll often come across sections with metal detectors or pat-downs, and you'll have to ditch your weapons if you want to avoid a ruckus. Of course, you may relish a romping ruckus, but that can be costly in later levels, where enemies have more firepower and snipers can take you out with one well-placed shot.

Agent 47 will wield more guns than a plumber's got pliers, and many of them are level-specific. The main categories are handguns, smaller automatics, rifles, shotguns, and snipers. Miniguns and other oddities pop up sporadically. Melee accoutrements -- meat hooks, butcher knives, pool cues -- abound as well, but you won't get too far if you rely too heavily on them. I'm not a big fan of the standard-issue equipment. The fiber wire is good for silent snuffing, but I never got the hang of the syringes. Night vision rarely is useful, and the binoculars are only worth it if you're in a higher difficulty level without as detailed of a map.

Memorable Moments

Most action movies are judged by their high-spots -- amazing and unforgettable scenes. Video games are finally catching up to this, and Hitman is at the forefront. For example, there's a part in the slaughterhouse level where you come across a bloody corpse that used to be a young girl, hanging from the ceiling of a candle-lit room. There's a pool of blood under her, and dozens of pine-tree air fresheners hanging around her. On a nearby crate are pictures of her, and one of Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers. The song, "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" plays sweetly in the background.